Ballard of Fallen Angels and Shadow

Koda Meets Keralynn's Mother

The time for Koda's match had finally come. He, Jiro, Iida, and Asui waited for Reika in the clearing for their match to start. "I think I've heard the song she's going to use for our match before. It sounds very sad so I'm wondering why she chose it." Jiro said.

"It's one of her favorite songs from the movie it's originally from. What I wanna know is why she isn't singing any of her father's songs." Reika explained as she walked towards them. She looked down in thought.

"Her father's?" Jiro asked as they looked at Reika.

She looks back at them and nods her head. "Her father is a famous American singer that has a quirk that basically makes him sing multiple parts at once, as if he's in a band or an acapella group. He's currently on tour with her mother and his band. She doesn't like talking about her mother much but her quirk is a combination of theirs." She explained.

"But then is her mother or father a Neko too?" Iida asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"Th-That's something for her to tell, not me." She said.

"Sh-She'll talk to us about it when she wants to, b-but for now we need to listen for her. W-We have to find her before time runs out again." Koda said. He looks towards Jiro. "C-Can you hear her anywhere, Jiro?" He asks.

"Not yet. If I remember correctly, The song lasts a max of eight minutes but there are rarely any lyrics." She explained.

"Which means we only have five minutes to find her before she starts to get sick." Koda says to himself.

"It would be best if we all split up into teams to search for Mayson. Jiro and Koda will be searching for Mayson, while Asui, Takami and I will figure out what her illusions are. It's highly possible that Takami knows where Mayson is hiding but leads the team away from her so that we don't suspect that she knows. Which is why the two of you will find her." Iida said as he adjusted his glasses again.

"Smartass." She said in a quiet pouty tone.

"J-Jiro...Can you try and pinpoint wh-where she is in that direction?" Koda asked as he pointed to the east from where they are now, without looking at her.

After a couple of minutes, Jiro found her. She points towards the east. "About forty meters that way." She said as she stood up and ran after Koda, who was already running in that direction. "W-Wait for me, Koda!"

'I'm not sure how but it's as if her song is tugging at my heart. Jiro did say that the song itself was sad but, hearing her voice now compared to the last match......is this......what falling in love feels like?' He thinks to himself as he runs through the forest. He stops behind one of the larger trees, catching his breath. He looks up to see Keralynn sitting on a tree branch above him. Her eyes were closed and slightly sunken in, yet tears were falling from them as she sang. His eyes widened as he felt his heart sink to his stomach when he saw her crying. His heart ached at the mere sight of her tears.

"Koda! Did you find her?" Jiro asked as she caught up to him. He put his finger to his mouth, signaling for her to keep quiet. They hear her stop singing and he looks back up to see her staring at him. She dried her tears and looked at them with a fake smile on her face.

"I guess you two found me. Team five wins." She said. He gives her a worried look before he holds his arms out to her.

"J-Jump down to me. I-I'll catch you." He said.

"It's alright. I can get down by myself." She said as she began to stand up but felt a bit light headed and lost her balance. She begins to fall but Koda catches her.

He holds her tightly in his arms and leans down to whisper in her ear. "You don't have to tell me anything. Just know that I'm here for you whenever you need me." He whispered. She looks at him with wide eyes as he looks at her and smiles.